Registered Dietitian
Salary

Women account for the majority of Registered Dietitians in the United States. The entire group has an average salary of $49K per year. Compensation ranges between $40K and $71K per year. The most important factor affecting compensation for this group is location, followed by career duration and the particular employer. While some workers in this profession — one in four — do not have any health coverage, a fair number do receive medical benefits and more than half have dental insurance. Job satisfaction for Registered Dietitians is high. Respondents to the PayScale salary survey provided the data for this report.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

Find Out Exactly What You Should Be Paid

Job Description for Registered Dietitian

Registered dietitians usually work in a hospital or a care facility such as a nursing home or a rehabilitation center. However, they may also privately consult clientele independently. Regardless of their place of employment, they work to assess their patients'/clients' nutritional needs and to create care plans that are tailored to each person's ongoing dietary needs and goals. Registered dietitians also routinely monitor their patients'/clients' basic vital signs and keep track of their body mass indexes (BMIs) and other related measurements.

A bachelor's degree in nutrition is the minimum educational requirement for registered dietitians. In addition, registered dietitians are also required to obtain a license from their respective state in order to work in that state. (Each state will have its own requirements related to the license required for a registered dietitian.) Communication and people skills, organization and planning are essential for registered dietitians. Registered dietitians must also have a moderate degree of computer literacy. Additional language skills are also desirable and in high demand. Certification or other related work experience with women, infants and children (WIC) may be preferred by some employers. Registered dietitians commonly work somewhat normal business or daytime hours, although some are required to work nights, evenings or weekends.

Common Career Paths for Registered Dietitian

Plan your career path. Drag job titles to investigate a particular path and click on a link to see where particular career can lead.

Registered Dietitians may progress into high-paying roles like Physician Assistant, where median compensation is $82K annually. Registered Dietitians most frequently become Dietitian or Nutritionists and Licensed Dietitians even though median compensation is $5K lower and $2K lower, respectively.

Dietitian Job Listings

Search for more jobs:

Job Title/Company

Location

Popular Employer Salaries for Registered Dietitian

Registered Dietitians flock to DaVita Inc., Sodexo, Inc., Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., Morrison Healthcare, and Healthcare Services Group, Inc., highly regarded companies that employ a generous number of people in this profession. Registered Dietitians in search of the best pay head to DaVita Inc., where the median salary rolls in at $56K. Although pay is top-notch overall, it does seem to be curbed at $69K, which isn't dramatically higher than the lower-end figure of $46K.

Popular Skills for Registered Dietitian

This chart shows the most popular skills for this job and what effect each skill has on pay.

Registered Dietitians seem to exploit a large range of skills on the job. Most notably, skills in Long Term Care, Sports Nutrition, Renal, and Eating Disorders are correlated to pay that is above average, with boosts between 4 percent and 7 percent. Those familiar with Counseling also tend to know Patient Education and Nutrition Support.

Pay by Experience Level for Registered Dietitian

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

Registered Dietitians with more experience do not necessarily bring home bigger paychecks. In fact, experience in this field tends to impact compensation minimally. Respondents with less than five years' experience take home $48K on average. In contrast, those who have been around for five to 10 years earn a noticeably higher average of $54K. After working for 10 to 20 years, Registered Dietitians make a median salary of $58K. Individuals who report more than two decades of experience seem to make only slightly more than folks in the 10-to-20 year range; the more senior group sees median earnings in the comparatively modest ballpark of $61K.

Pay Difference by Location

For Registered Dietitians, Los Angeles provides a pay rate that is 32 percent greater than the national average. Registered Dietitians will also find cushy salaries in New York (+18 percent), San Diego (+7 percent), Philadelphia (+3 percent), and Miami (+3 percent). In Indianapolis, salaries are 19 percent below the national average and represent the lowest-paying market. Employers in Phoenix and Detroit also lean toward paying below-median salaries (8 percent lower and 5 percent lower, respectively).

Registered Dietitian Reviews

What is it like working as a Registered Dietitian?

Registered Dietitian in Medford:

"Rewarding."

Pros: I love being able to help people who want to help themselves. Community outreach is one of my favorite parts of my job, reaching out to all types of populations and adjusting education based on their individual needs.

Cons: Nutrition and dietetics is a under-recognized field. It is new and growing.